Elevator car shoe hydraulic stabilizer



Oct. 28, 1941. s. B. SOMERVELL 2,260,728

ELEVATOR CAR SHOE HYDRAULIC STABILIZER Filed May 19, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR JJOME GV'LL fiewlswmm su A 1 ORNEY Oct, 28, 1941. s. B. SOMERVELL ELEVATOR CAR SHOE HYDRAULIC STABILIZER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19,- 1938 INVENTOR -50MRVELL 820a? damsel 51,1,

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 28, 1941 ELEVATOR CAR snon HYDRAULIC STABILIZER Somervell Bruce Somervell, Kenmore, N. Y.

Application May 19, 1938, Serial No. 208,776

2 Claims.

It is an object of my invention to provide a hydraulic method of creating and equalizing the car shoe pressures on guide rails of elevators and lift apparatus. In the past, it has been conventional practice to provide an elevator cab with two car shoes on each side engaging the vertical rails in the hatchway. These car shoes are provided with movable contact elements which are generally kept in a tensioned position against the rails by means of compression springs. The spring tension or pressure can be adjusted. In practice, however, the spring pressure is not equalized on the four shoes and also changes due to wear and age. This causes the elevator cab to sway horizontally to an appreciable extent while in motion. It is one of my objects to overcome this sway. In the event that the spring tension is adjusted to attempt to eliminate the sway, it often happens that too much tension is placed upon the springs and the car shoes with the result that the current consumption of the elevator motors is substantially increased and there is a resultant excessive cost of operating the elevators. It often happens that toomuch tension is placed on one of the car shoe springs, thus throwing the car out of true and resulting in a strain on the car cables and sheaves. My object is to eliminate this condition. Also, it is obvious that my invention will maintain a constant pressure and constant contact on the rails .or guides.

My further object is to provide a constant hydraulic, fluid or pneumatic pressure means for the counterweight guide shoes, as well as the elevator car shoes. I avoid the damaging results of unequalized spring tension on existing construction, the strain on cables and sheaves, and greater power required for operation under unequalized tension and unbalanced car. My stabilizer will provide for better riding elevators, less noisy, lesser and uniform wear on shoes and rails and lesser power consumption due to reduced frictionand true travel.

It is my further object to provide an automatic self-regulating car shoe stabilizer and equalizer which will be inexpensive to manufacture and install.

These and other objects will more readily be understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts in the several views.

In Figure l is illustrated a diagrammatic front elevation of an elevator cab showing my device installed thereon. It must be understood that in chambers 4 to 4".

order to provide for individual liquid or gaspressure means for each individual car or counterweight shoe chamber, it would be necessary to have a control device or register so that the fourpoint pressure suspension could be manually or automatically adjusted from time to time.

Figure 2 shows a sectional elevation of one embodiment of my hydraulic pressure chamber.

Figure 3 shows a car counterweight diagrammatically illustrated, embodying the invention, and Figure 4 illustrates a section in elevation of a spring-loaded piston.

In the drawings, l illustrates the elevator cab 2, 2', 2" and 2" illustrates the four car shoes. 3 and 3 are the elevator rails. 4,4, 4" and 4" illustrate the car shoe pressure chamber supports of my invention. At 5 is illustrated the four hydraulic feed lines. At 6 is shown the hydraulic pressure chamber having the lid 1 preferably attached to the chamber by pressure proof gaskets 8 and being provided with a relatively extended flexible diaphragm portion 9 supporting piston I0, having adjustable weights II and filled with a proper gravity oil or other suitable liquid II'. I may also employ pneumatic or gas pressure, if desired.

It is obvious that by adjustment of the weights II, the piston l0 operating through the diaphragm 9 will create any desired amount of hydraulic pressure on the fluid II in the chamber 6, which in accordance with well known laws of hydraulics, will be transferred to the pipes 5, preferably constructed of high pressure rubber hose or metallic piping, to the car shoe pressure These in turn will place uniform pressure upon the car shoes 2 to 2" and will thus automatically stabilize the car against horizontal swaying in motion in the hatchway on the rails 3. This application for the counterweights is, of course, similar.

Referring to Figure 3, I4 is the counterweight guide rail, 12 is the counterweight car shoe, I3

is the car shoe pressure chamber, I5 is the counterweight ropes or cables and I6 represents the counterweights. Referring to Figure 4, I1 is the housing or case for the hydraulic or pressure chamber containing the fluid I8, the stuffing box portion [9, the extended receptacle 22 for the piston 2| and the spring-actuated means 20.

It must be understood that while I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, there are other species and embodiments which are within the scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by United States Letters Patent 1. In an elevator stabilizer, an elevator cab, operable in a shaft, vertically disposed guide rails positioned in said shaft, a plurality of car shoes mounted on said cab in sliding engagement with said rails, a fluid pressure chamber being mounted on said cab, said chamber being connected to said individual car shoes by tubing and adapted to maintain all of said plurality of car shoes 10 

